I’ve already said many times that the cover letter is even more important than your resume, especially when you are at the beginning of your career in fashion and you don’t have a lot you can show and previous experience you can leverage on your resume.
Sending a written cover letter will already give you bonus points aka enhance your chances of getting noticed by fashion recruiters. But there is another trick to stand out among a pool of applications and make companies feel extra special: adding a one-minute video cover letter.
You can send a video cover letter when you apply for a fashion job/internship that the company has posted or when you send a cold application.
Indeed, the video cover letter doesn’t have to replace the written one, as it can be hard to express all your motivation in a one-minute video.
So what’s the added value of the video cover letter?
Reason 1: It makes your fashion job application stand out more
I wouldn’t say the written cover letter is outdated and old-fashioned yet; traditional application documents including the written cover letter and the resume still work, and you should keep using them. But in today’s digital world, a video cover letter is a more original job application format, so you should consider adding it as an extra.
When it comes to fashion job and internship applications, the more unconventional- additional strategies you use – the more chances you have to catch the recruiters’ attention.
A video cover letter is one of those unconventional strategies that still a few people use. Which means more opportunities for you – especially when you apply for luxury fashion jobs that are very competitive.
It can also be a game-changer when you get stuck in your applications and don’t hear back from companies for months.
Like I said above, you can send a video cover letter both when you apply for a fashion job/internship that the company has posted to stand out among 500 other applicants on average. It’s also useful when you send a cold e-mail to fashion recruiters and professionals so that you can create an even more direct and personal connection with them.
Reason 2: Most hiring decisions are based on the connection between the candidate and the recruiter
To understand the importance of the video cover letter, we also need to recall how fashion recruiters make their hiring decisions.
When they review applications, half of the decisions are based on the technical aspects: how attractive your resume is, whether your profile matches the role, etc. The other half of the hiring decisions is based on a gut feeling that this candidate is the right person for this job.
Indeed, most of the time, hiring decisions are made mainly by just a connection between you and the recruiter.
If the recruiter can see something special in you, you can get the job even if you might be less competent and have less experience than another candidate. That’s why many times, candidates who feel they are 100% qualified for the position and submit the perfect resume and written cover letter are not getting the job. Maybe the recruiter didn’t feel that they were the right fit even though they had it all.
Very often when I receive applications to work at Glam Observer, I first put aside those that seem a good fit on the technical side and breathe some passion. But even from the written cover letter I sometimes struggle to decide whether the candidate would be a good fit for the company. I need to see and interact with the person before I hire them. That’s where the job interviews come in.
But how to create that connection between you and the recruiter before you actually get invited for a job interview?
With the video cover letter, you can already create a first connection with the recruiter and give them a chance to know you “in person” and sense a bit of your personality and attitude even if it’s for a minute! Although it won’t make you skip the fashion job interview, you will have even more chances of landing one!
It’s important to build more personal and direct connections with fashion recruiters when you are looking for a job or internship in the industry. A video cover letter is an effective way to achieve it because you are showing more than a piece of paper aka your resume, written cover letter and portfolio.
Tips to make the perfect video cover letter for a job in fashion
1 minute only
A video cover letter should be as short as one minute. By doing so you maximise the chances of getting it seen and saving the recruiters some time.
A one-minute video cover letter also allows you to showcase your synthesis skills. In fact, by being direct and concise, you have more chances of catching the recruiters’ attention than with a longer video.
Don’t be afraid that you won’t have the time to say everything. Remember the video cover letter is just an addition to your application, so you don’t need to say everything. You can briefly recap the main points of your written cover letter or focus on a specific point.
You can record a video cover letter on your smartphone or on Zoom.
What to include in a video cover letter?
Your video cover letter should follow a similar structure as the written cover letter: there should be an introduction, development, and a conclusion. It will be similar in content but instead of being written, it’s a video.
Briefly explain who you are, what you do (studying, interning, working…), what you admire about that company, why you want to work there, and why you are a good fit for that fashion job/internship.
You can even begin with a more direct sentence such as “These are the reasons why you should hire me!”
However, since the video cover letter should last 1 minute, the content should be adjusted taking the duration into consideration.
Your passion should be the focus
The video cover letter is the idea place to express more of your passion for fashion, the company and the role. So I suggest you focus on that and skip the technical facts that you can develop more in your resume and written cover letter.
Feel free to include a quick example that illustrates your passion for the company or fashion in general: an exhibition you visited, a book about the company, etc.
When you say it out loud in the video cover letter instead of merely writing them, your passion will be perceived even more!
Personalize the video cover letter to the company and the role
Make sure you personalize the video cover letter to the fashion company and the job you apply for. Use the name of the company and the job title so that the recruiter knows you are not sending a generic video cover letter to all fashion companies.
Care for the dress code and the background
Make sure your video cover letter conveys professionalism. Choose an outfit that you would wear for a job interview and pick a nice background (library, white wall, or a virtual background on Zoom) to record the video.
Smile and act confident
When you record your video cover letter, make sure you look exactly into the camera and not to the floor or your hands or around. Act friendly but also professional, and enthusiastic about the position.
When recording the video cover letter, don’t think about who will watch. Try to relax, smile, and stay confident 😉 You can practice it a couple of times until you get confident in front of the camera and you like the result.
These are my tips for you to make the perfect video cover letter for a fashion job or internship. A simple one-minute video can make all the difference in your applications, so don’t overlook this smart tool.
I share all the unconventional strategies to land a job in fashion even without previous experience or fashion degree in my online course Break into the Fashion Industry.
